A few months ago, the largest school district in Texas announced plans to close twenty-eight elementary and middle school libraries, claiming it was part of an effort to combat low test scores and discipline problems. Unfortunately, this troubling trend seems to be spreading. According to the author, multiple studies have shown that effective…

This article provides a history of the two large-scale assessment consortia that were funded in 2010 as part of the Race to the Top Competition, the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC), and the Smarter-Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). I compare the goals the consortia were funded to meet between 2011…

COVID-19 has created a less-than-ideal environment for social work education and practice, especially for student interns trying their best to navigate the ups and downs of the forced termination process. Supporting students in meeting this challenge during an era marked by shifting routines, revised learning plans, altered work environments, and…

As COVID-19 struck the United States in March 2020, sending the nation into lockdown, worry about the fate of private schools was high. These schools, which only survive if people can pay for them, seemed to face deep trouble. To gauge how the private schooling sector has fared amid the coronavirus pandemic, Cato's Center for Educational Freedom…